Lesson 1: When it comes to union-busting, the Republicans will bargain in bad faith every time. Here's the UAW giving their side of the story, and, no surprise, Senator Corker was screwing with them from the start.

Lesson 2: You can't truly bargain with people who are willing to burn it down. Professor David Hart doesn't believe the Republicans are willing to let it fall, but he's wrong. Corker, along with Richard Shelby and other open opponents of the bailout, will let the midwest go to hell in a heartbeat. We're not dealing with rational actors here--we're dealing with people who are so sold on the idea that organized labor is bad that they're willing to risk the long-term livelihoods of millions of people over it. And this despite the fact that their states have seen, over the last thirty years, massive job losses because companies have outsourced manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor markets.

Lesson 3: Since you can't bargain with people who are willing to burn it down, you have to marginalize them. That's where we stand now. Polls show that the Big 3 bailout, though not particularly popular on its own, is far more popular than the banking industry bailout, and the people opposing the bailout just saw their party get its ass kicked for the second straight election. They're on the wrong side of this issue, and they need to pay a political price for it.

So I say again, Majority Leader Reid, make them filibuster this in real time, on national television. Force them to make their arguments to the American people. Make them explain why allowing the death of an industry that affects 10% of the working population is an acceptable idea. If they're going to act crazy, make them do it in front of everyone.